Nail and method of applying the same



Am 10, 1945) L HOLMES. 2,373,311

NAIL AND METHOD OF APPLYING THE SAME Filed April 8, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet l P 5 4 I4 7'7 5 7 16 75 m 7 Louis W. Holmes "11 7b 71' Y 6 y I 3 April 10, 1945. 1. w. HOLMES NAIL AND METHOD OF APPLYING THE SAME Filed April 8, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Apr. 10, 1945 NATE AND METHOD OE'APPLYING Tl-I E;

" SAME" Louis-*W. Holmes, Minneapolis, Minn.,, assignor of onez-thirchto Albert-.1. J ohnsonand one-third ltvtfiAnthony- A.- Rogers, Both of. Minneapolis,

Application April 'lii 1943, Serial 1 -4825327 (.Cll 1-1)v 1. 01min.

invention relates to nails and the method of applying the same" and has for an" object to provide a nail constructed of material other than metal and to further provideasimple and practicahmethod' of applying the-same. I

An object of my invention resides providing anail which can be constructed out of material such as the phenol formaldehyde materials,- asbestos-Portland cement materials and similar plastic compositions.

A still further-object of the invention resides inproviding 'a; nailwhich canbe constructed from sheet material.

An object of the invention" resides construct-- ing th'e nail with a plate-likebody having: taper== ing lateral edges and in relying; principally on the friction at the edges of the nailfor' holding the nail in driven position.

A still further object of theinvention resides in the method of applyingthenaii, in which a holeis formed in the object into which the: nail istebe driven", of a shape corresponding to" that of the nail and in which the nail is driven intothehole: I

Another object of theinvention resides. in the method of applying the nail which consists in formingthe hole with lateral edgescorrespondingtothose of the'nail and having: beadsthereon' projecting inwardly into the hole which method furtherconsists driving the nail" into the hole to cause the lateral edges of thenaril to" engage the-beads and compress the same and create friction-between the nail and. the object into which it is driven through the beads:

Another-object of the invention re'sidesin pro-' v-idinga punch for forming the holes" in the 01:1 iect into which the nail is to be driven, said punchbeing constructed to conform in shape to: that of the nail and having a plate-like" body with tapering lateral cutting edges anda, tip formed with penetrating edges merging into' the later-al edges.

Another object of the invention resides" in constructing the punch with the surfaces of the lateral edges concave-in form:

Another object of the invention resides in constructing the punch with the surfaces or the penetrating edges V-shaped in form.

A still further object of the invention resides in, providing a guide for cooperation with the punch to guide the punch during entry intothe ohj'ectinto which the nail is to be driven.

A still further object of the. invention resides in: providing? an extracting device associated with the punch and cooperating with the guide for withdrawingthe punch from the hole formed thereby. I

An object of the invention resides inproviding stop means acting between the guide and tool for-limiting the penetration of" the punch into the object in which the hole is to be made.

Other-objects: of the invention reside in the novel combination and arrangement of parts and ir-rthedetails; of construction here-matter illiZlS' trated and/or described. I

the drawings:- v Fig. i's -anenlarged perspective view of anail iiiustra-ting an embodiment of myinventibn.

Fig. Z iS a; planview of: a: potti'onof a container illus-trating themetlfiod of using the naili Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 3"--3 o-f"Fig-; 2 21 nd. drawn to-agreater scalez Fig.4 is a plan view of a portion of the struc 'ture shown in Fig; 2, drawn to a greater scale and illustrating the formed holeprior-to the reception of the nail.

Fig; 5 is an el evational sectional viewofthe tool and guide therefor showing the punch in its fully driven position.

Fig; one a view-similar: to Fig. 5 showi'ng' the minor-1*partly'withdrawrrfrom the-object in which it has been driven: i Fig. 7 isan el'evationak sectional ViW-'t5;-ken on line I F of Fig 5-.

'Fig: 8 is" a: crosssectional viewitaken on line 8 4? ofFi'ga 7. M'y'i'mproved nail,v indicated in its entirety by the referencechara'cter' A is shown in detail in Fig; 1- and is' constructed fronr sheet material-i nail comprises an elongated plate-like body l1! having" a driving head Il formed-at one end thereof and an entering tip at its other end Thebody HP-has tapering edges l3 and Hi whose surfaces-arepl'aniform and which converge from the head H toward the tip I21" In; the edges l3 and' f4 maybe" formed serrations t5" which serve to; assist in retaining the nail in position when thesame' is driven. The head H is formed with shoulders l6 which cause theihead to" extend outwardly beyond the-body' I 0 and toengage the member attached to'the object to? which the nail is who applied. Thetipl i may have: converg= i-ng edges I! and asquare lower edge f8, orthe same may be constructed with only tl'ie'ed'ge It. edge may be square, as; shown, or; tapering tom the tool, nailare planiform and parallel. and" are continuousti'n'ou-ghout the'body, head and tip or the naili K In order" to apply the nail 'to'the object to as desired: The faces. 56" of the I punch 25 at the lowermost end. Punch 25, similar to the shank 2|, is constructed with parallel faces 26 and tapering edges 2! which converge from the shank 2| toward the tip of the tool which is indicated by the reference numeral 28.

The shape of the punch 25 corresponds to that of the body H] of the nail A. The tip 28 of the punch 25 is formed with penetrating edges 29 which are arranged in converging relation and which merge into the edges 21 of the punch. The surfaces of the edges 29 are V-shaped in form,

25. -Said eccentric may be rotated to slightly vary the depth of penetration of the tool.

In order to illustrate the method of applying the nail and of utilizing the tool to form the hole in the object in which the nail is to be driven, I have shown in Fig. 2 a portion of a box E. This boxincludes a top 6|, 9. side wall 62 and an end wall 63. These walls are constructed from sheet material which are attached to a frame 64, of which the upper frame members 65 and 66 are shown. Frame members 65 and 66 are con-' structed preferably of dimensional lumber and are secured together at the corners and to one anas shown in Fig. 7, while the surfaces of the edges 21 are concave, as shown in Fig. 8. Edges 29 serve as penetrating edges for starting the tool in the object and the edges 21 serve, in continuation of said edges 29, to cut into the material of the object as the tool is driven into the same.

To facilitate the proper driving of the punch into the object, a guide 0 is employed which is best shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7. This guide consists of two angle shaped frame members 3| and 32 which are arranged with the bases 33 thereof in coplanar relation and with the legs 34 thereof spaced from one another an amount equal to the thickness of the tool B. For holding the two frame members 3| and 32 in proper spaced relation, two spacer blocks 36 are utilized. I Bolts 31 pass through the legs 34 of the frame members 3| and 32 and through the spacer blocks 36 and hold the parts assembled. Said spacer blocks are spaced apart a distance equal to the width of the shank 23 to form a way 38 extending through the guide and along which the tool B may travel as the same is driven into the object to which the nail is to be applied. I

For the purpose of removing the tool after the same has been driven into the object, an extractor, designated by the reference numeral D, is employed which comprises an eccentric 4| having a handle 42 secured thereto. Eccentric 4| is pivoted on a stud 43 which extends through a hole 44 in said eccentric and through another hole 45 in the shank 2| of tool 13. The said stud is formed with a threaded shank 46 which passes through the hole 45 and which is provided with a nut 41 by means of which the stud 43 may be held in position. The hole 44 is eccentric with respect to the center of the eccentric 4|, as shown in Figs. 5. and 6. When the handle 42 is raised from its position shown in Fig.5 and swung over to its position shownin Fig. 6, the edge 48 of said eccentrie engages the upper edge 5| of the leg 34 of frame member 32 and causes the tool B to rise along the way 38 and the punch 26 to be extracted from the object into which the same has been driven. To assist in reducing wear, a wear-plate 49 is applied to the leg 34 of frame member 32 by clamping the same under the bolts 31 which attach the'leg 34 in'place. The wear-plate 49 has a surface 52 which is coplanar with the surface 5| and which, together with the surface 5|, provides sufiicient bearing surface for engagement with the surface 48 of eccentric 4|.

The depth to which the punch 25 may be driven is limited by an adjustable stop device 53 which consists of a small eccentric 54 mounted on the shank 46 of stud 43. This eccentric engages the upper edge 55 of the leg 34 of frame member3| and limits the depth of penetration of the punch other in any suitable manner as is now well known in the art. Before the sheets comprising the walls 6|, 62 and 63 are applied, the same are provided at suitable intervals with rectangular holes 61 which are formed with tapering ends 68 conforming to the inclination of the edges |6 of the driving head ll of nail A. The holes 61 are so shaped that the said heads I fit snugly within the same with the uppermost surface of the head 20 of the nail A flush with the outermost surface of the sheets forming the walls 6|, 62 and 63. A number of the nails A are illustrated in Fig. 2 as having been driven in place.

The method of using the tool B is as follows: The blocks 36 of the guide C are formed with legs 1 lwhich are adapted to be received in the ends of the holes 61 in the sheets to be attached. These legs serve to properly position the guide so that the holes to be formed in the object to which the nails are to be applied, which in this case are the frame members and 66, will be in the proper position. In applying the sheet 6 I, the same after holes 61 have been formed therein is placed upon the frame members 65 and 66 in proper position. The guide C is next placed over one of the holes 61 in the sheet with the legs received therein. The tool B is then inserted in the Way 38 with handle 42 and eccentric 4| in the position shown in Fig. 5 and the said tool driven into the frame member 65 or 66 as the case may be, bymeans of a hammer applied to the head 24 of said tool.

. When the stop 53 reaches the surface 550i the frame member 3|, the penetration of the punch into the object is terminated. Upon termination of the driving operation, the handle 42 is moved from the position shown in Fig. 5 to that shown in Fig. 6, whereupon the punch 25 is raised and practically removed from the object. Thereafter the punch may be easily withdrawn when the guide C and the tool B are lifted upwardly. When the tool B is removed, a hole 14 is formed in the object which has tapering edges 15 and parallel lateral surfaces 16. Due to the construction of the edges 21 of the punch 25, heads 1! are formed in'the object along the edges 15 which project inwardly into the hole 14 fromthe said edges thereof.

The method of applying the nail consists in first forming the hole in the object in which the nail is to be driven, as described and then inserting the nail into the hole and driving the same by applying force to the surface 28 of the head thereof by means of a hammer or any other suitable device. As the nail A passes into the hole 14, the lateral edges [3 and I4 of said nail engages the beads 11 and compress the same. During such action, the fibers of the object into which the nail is driven are dragged along with the nail in a manner indicated in Fig. 3. This causes the fibers to project downwardly as shown and when they fall opposite the notches |5 in the surfaces l3 and I4 of the nail, the fibers spring back and engage the shoulders 30 formed by said notches, thereby assisting in holding the nail in position. The friction between the surfaces I3 and I4 and the beads 17 additionally assists in holding the nail in position.

Th advantages of my invention are manifest.

Where the sheets forming the walls of the structure on which the nail is to be used are formed of phenol formaldehyde products or asbestos-Portland cement products, the nails can be constructed of the same material. If desired, the said nails may be formed from the identical sheets from which the Walls are constructed. In this manner, the disadvantages resulting from difierences in expansion and contraction between the nail and sheet to be attached are eliminated.

Also the disadvantage of rusting or corrosion of nails ordinarily employed is done away with.

The nails of my invention can be constructed at a relatively low expense and are extremely serviceable. With my invention, the nail being of the same material as the wall can be surfaced and finished with the wall surface without showing, thereby making an extremely neat and attractive construction. The nails can be either formed from sheet material or cast in a molding machine.

Changes in the specific form of my invention, as herein described, may be made. within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

The method of applying a nail having a platelike body formed with converging edges to an object, which method consists in forming in the object a hole conforming in shape to that of the body of the nail, and with beads extending along the lateral edges of the hole, and in driving the nail into the hole to urge the lateral edges or the nail into engagement with the heads to compress the same and create friction between the nail and the object through the beads.

LOUIS w. HOLMES. 

